No. 2364

Souffle of Partridge a la Haggins

Souffle de Perdreau a la Haggins

Pound half a pound of cold partridge meat to a pulp, add to it half an ounce of foies-gras, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and put in four tablespoonfuls of game glaze (No. 398) and half an ounce of butter; press this through a fine sieve and place the puree in a metal basin to heat up lightly, incorporating in slowly four raw egg-yolks and four very stiffly beaten whites. When the preparation is thoroughly mixed, transfer it to some small buttered paper cases (Fig. 439), stiffened in the oven, having them three-quarters of an inch full; push them into a slack oven fifteen to twenty minutes before serving; glaze over with a brush dipped in game glaze (No. 398) and serve them instantly they leave the oven; they must not be standing. Truffles cut in eighth of an inch squares may be added to the souffles if so desired.

← No. 2363 Souffle of Lobster in Cases Miscellaneous Entrées No. 2365 Souffle of Pheasant a la Andrew →

For the Modern Kitchen

A hot savoury soufflé built on leftover roast game, thickened with nothing but reduced stock and egg. The whole thing hinges on service: it collapses within a minute or two of leaving the oven, so everything else on the table should already be in place.

Game glazeRanhofer's No. 398 is game stock reduced until it sets to a syrupy, sticky glaze — what a modern kitchen calls a glace de gibier. Four tablespoons of it carries much of the flavour and, with the eggs, holds the mixture together; a commercial demi-glace or a heavily reduced homemade game or dark chicken stock stands in.
Slack ovenA slack oven is a cool one; it is usually glossed as somewhere around 300F, though the book gives no temperature. Higher heat will set the outside before the centre rises and the paper cases will scorch. Fifteen to twenty minutes is the recipe's own timing for cases of this size.
Warming the puréeThe metal basin is heated "lightly" — barely warm, enough to loosen the purée so the yolks fold in smoothly. If it gets hot the yolks scramble and the whites will not lift it.
Foies-grasHalf an ounce is a seasoning, not a filling: about a tablespoon of foie gras or a good smooth liver parfait, worked into the pounded meat for richness and fat.
Paper casesFig. 439 is a small paper soufflé case, stiffened in the oven beforehand so it holds its shape when filled. Buttered ramekins or small ovenproof cups do the same job. Note that Ranhofer says to fill them "three-quarters of an inch full" — a depth — rather than three-quarters of the way up.
Pounding the meatA mortar was the original tool; a food processor gets there in seconds. Still press the purée through a fine sieve afterwards — game meat carries sinew and shot-hardened tissue that no processor breaks down.
Cold partridgeHalf a pound of picked cooked meat is roughly two roasted partridges. Cooked pheasant, guinea fowl or dark chicken meat behaves the same way in the mixture.
Yield and serviceThe recipe gives no yield; the quantities suggest a handful of small cases as an entrée course. Glaze the tops the moment they come out and carry them straight to the table; "they must not be standing" is the operative instruction.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of thirty-odd years as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and its recipe titles read like a guest list: dishes were routinely named for the patrons who ordered or were honoured by them, which is how a soufflé of partridge comes to be à la Haggins. The dish itself belongs to a nineteenth-century restaurant genre now almost extinct: the hot savoury soufflé served in individual paper cases as a light course between heavier ones, using up the cold remains of roasted game in a form that looked entirely new. Its total reliance on reduced game glaze rather than flour or béchamel marks it as high-kitchen work, since the glaze presupposes a stockpot running continuously in a professional kitchen.